Two impressive federal information security achievements were recognized last week as part of the 2010 Government Information Security Leadership Awards program. The annual awards program, run by consulting firm (ISC)2, recognizes individuals who have significantly enhanced the information security workforce by demonstrating a leadership role in any information security workforce improvement initiative, program or project on either a government-wide or agency-specific basis.
In the workforce improvement category, the "Assuring the Information Infrastructure" group at National Defense University won the team award for rapidly deploying a virtual classroom during the 2010 snowstorms that hit the D.C. area. Under the leadership of Professor Mark Duke, the AII team is responsible for educating government officials and military officers about information assurance and critical information infrastructure protection.
Thomas Schankweiler, chief information security officer in the Office of the Secretary at the Health and Human Services Department, won the individual award for workforce improvement for developing and implementing a comprehensive information security program within the office of the secretary. During the implementation of the program, Schankweiler emphasized the importance of educating the workforce on the challenges of IT security and related privacy issues, in part by educating his co-workers on their responsibilities for protecting the sensitive information of IT systems.
For more information on the 2010 GISLA winners, click here.
Brittany Ballenstedt
Brittany Ballenstedt writes Nextgov's Wired Workplace blog, which delves into the issues facing employees who work in the federal information technology sector. Before joining Nextgov, Brittany covered federal pay and benefits issues as a staff correspondent for Government Executive and served as an associate editor for National Journal's Technology Daily. She holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from Mansfield University and originally hails from Pennsylvania. She currently lives near Travis Air Force Base, Calif., where her husband is stationed.
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